Parable: Good Man
by year of the snake
Summary: Aang really just wants Katara to get along with Zuko. He tells a story in the hopes that it will help. He reworks a parable the monks taught him, but will it be enough?


Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Air-bender, the very talented team of Mike and Brain own the show and characters. The rating maybe wrong but I did try to get it right.

By: year of the snake (at fanfiction) aka. crescentmoon (at mediaminer). And now Opal-Dreams on DeviantArt.

**Parable: The Good Samaritan **

Aang was sick of it. Katara was always on Zuko's case. So he decided to tell a story about doing good to all, no matter whom. And how could he do that? He'd have to use an old tale the monks always told him and tweak it a tad.

That night at the fire he had the story prepared to tell.

"Hey everyone, I want to tell a story." Aang began. "It's a story the monks used to tell. Once there was a Water Tribe man who had to travel in the Earth Kingdom. It so happened that he decided to take a road that was mountainous and high. While on that road he met with thieves. They beat him and stole all his money, his donkey-goat, and even the clothes off his back."

--

A Water Tribe man, one who had only just earned the status of 'man' in his tribe was saying goodbye to his little sister. Soon he would be shoving off to go to the Earth Kingdom.

"Sokka," said the girl, "It can wait. Wait until dad comes home and travel with him. It's dangerous to sail alone."

"I'll be fine. In fact I'll do so well, I'll be able to hire a crew to sail home with me." He nudged his sister. "Besides they want this stuff as quickly as I can get it there."

"Sokka, at least join a caravan when you land."

"And what's so dangerous on land?" he laughed.

"Wild animals and what about thieves? Please Sokka."

"Katara, look at me, I'll be fine. I'm strong and young."

"Sokka…"

"Sokka your boat's ready."

"Goodbye Katara. I'll be back soon!" Sokka ran off and jumped in his boat. He sailed away.

Katara worried for him traveling alone. Kana came up to her and told her, "He'll be alright. The spirits will protect him.

The journey to the Earth Kingdom went smoothly. He landed there faster then he had hoped he would. Because he didn't land at the docks he pulled his boat as far ashore as he could. He pulled it between some trees to hide it. Then Sokka found an Earth Kingdom town and bought a map. In the map shop he got instructions to his destination.

"What's the quickest way?"

"That would be Armadillo-Bear Pass. But that way is full of nooks and crannies where thieves and wild animals love to hide."

"I am not scared. Thanks."

"Be careful!" yelled the man after him.

The day Sokka traveled Armadillo-Bear Pass, just as he was coming down the mountainside, he was attacked.

The thieves jumped him. His boomerang fell off his back and down onto the lower road that was a fifty or fifty-five foot drop. They took his other weapon before he could reach for it. Left without a weapon the thieves easily beat the poor man until he couldn't move. Then they stole everything he had that might fetch a few copper coins.

--

"I bet they were Fire Nation." Katara glared at Zuko.

"I don't know, the monks never said, because that didn't matter." Aang's foot twitched a little because he was nervous how Katara would take the next things that happened in the story. "After the thieves left the Water Tribe man to die an Earth Kingdom man came by with his young, pregnant wife. And they passed by the man without offering him any help."

--

"Oh! Than, look!" Ying pointed to the fallen man.

Than squinted at the battered man. "Thieves!" he whispered. "Come on Ying, if we linger we too could be victims of the thieves."

Than rushed his wife on. He didn't even check to see if the man was alive.

--

"Then came an Air Nomad. He too slipped past the fallen man. Just as the couple before him, he didn't help the man."

--

An old crabby air-bender saw the man and sniffed. Then he hurried on. He had to get to the temple in time. And losing his glider had put him behind schedule.

--

"Then there came a Fire Nation man. This man's family had a feud for many years with people from the Water Tribe man's particular tribe. But when he saw the man laying there all beaten and torn he had compassion on him. He dressed his wounds and gave his some of his own water. He continued to help him even after he knew who the other man was. Then taking some of the load off his donkey-goat he lifted the wounded Water Tribe man onto his donkey-goat's back."

--

Zuko lead his donkey-goat around a turn in the road. When he did he saw Sokka, the pour man beaten so badly that he was struggling to breathe, he led his donkey-goat to him. First he cleaned the open wounds. Then he bound them and the broken bones. Following that Zuko tilted his water canteen so Sokka could take a drink. Even after he recognized Sokka from one of the times his family and the Water Tribe had found themselves together, he helped him.

Realizing that Sokka wouldn't be able to walk he returned to his donkey-goat and removed some of its load. Then he carefully lifted Sokka onto the animal's back. He took up what he could of the things he had taken from the donkey-goat and left the rest on the road. He did so knowing that it would likely be taken before he returned.

Zuko began leading the donkey-goat away.

--

Aang continued his story after getting a drink. "The Fire Nation man brought the donkey-goat to stop in front of an inn. There he and the inn keeper helped the Water Tribe man. The Fire Nation man stayed there the night. In the morning he paid the inn keeper, then gave him more to care for the wounded Water Tribe man. He told the inn keeper that if he spent more than what he had given him that when he returned he would repay him."

--

Coming to Past the Pass Inn Zuko called out for the inn keeper. The inn keeper rushed out. He was a large man, and because of it everyone called him The Boulder. He was large, un-movable and an earth-bender. All things considered everyone, including himself, thought the name fit.

Together, only because Zuko didn't want the bulky man to hurt the Water Tribe boy, they carried Sokka in.

After placing him on a bed Zuko had the Boulder go get things to heal the man's wounds. Zuko cared silently for the pour man all night because of a fever that burned at Sokka's brow. And when morning was near Sokka woke.

Zuko calmly explained what happened.

Sokka didn't even manage to remain awake for the whole short tale.

After the sun rose Zuko went and paid the inn keeper for the room. He also paid him for the injured man to stay there until he healed. "If you spend any more money on him than this, I will pay you when I return."

So Zuko left Sokka in the care of the inn keeper and his wife. They had two children of their own around the age of Sokka, a girl, Suki, and a boy, Jet.

Suki fell in love with Sokka while he stayed there and vice versa.

Because of his broken leg Sokka wasn't healed enough to leave before Zuko returned.

Sokka left to travel back to the sea with Zuko.

"Why do you have to go?" asked Suki.

"Because my sister was expecting me long ago, if I do not return… She will think the worst. She may even come after me. And when she finds out I am not dead, she'll kill me for not returning."

Zuko shook his head and laughed silently.

When they made it back to Sokka's boat Zuko helped him launch it. "Goodbye Sokka."

Sokka called to him from his boat, "Hey, Zuko…" he paused.

"Yeah?"

"I have a gift for you, a real prize to repay you for your help."

"You really don't have to."

Sokka shook his head. "Yes, I do." He took a deep breath. "I'm going to press your suit with my father."

"What?" Zuko asked confused.

"I'm going to let you marry my sister."

--

Toph was broken out of her imaginings by Katara saying, "I see what you're trying to do here Aang."

"You do?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah. And it isn't going to work. I am not going to let Zuko fool me again."

Aang sighed. It hadn't worked. 'I don't care if you never let him fool you again, but couldn't you forgive him a little?' he thought.

Katara huffed away. The little storyteller could do the dishes tonight for trying such a stunt.

* * *

Hi everyone. I hope you liked it! I tried to mix the stories in an interesting way.

I have two contests going one is just guessing how I would cast in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and the other is fanart/fanfiction fairytales. For more information either go to my deviantART journal pages or find my link on my profile (fanfiction{}net people). (Sorry to any who may be reading this on mediaminer but because I don't know if you exist I'm not going to bother linking it. Sorry.)


End file.
